Rilla of Four Winds
by Frangipanigirl
Summary: a version of what happens after RoI. Please read and review. DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of these characters. I just exploit them for my own use
1. Chapter 1

It was a golden cloudy, loveable afternoon, which was why Rilla had gone to Rainbow Valley. She went to her sylvan dell, and looked around her. She loved this spot; every thing in it was part of her. She could almost see Walter lying down with his head buried in a poetry book; Jem with his head buried in a medical journal; she could almost hear Nan and Jerry bickering about something that was important to both of them. She could almost see Di next to Walter, sewing something, whilst talking and laughing with Faith, and Una. So lost was she in her thoughts that a voice startled her. 'Good afternoon, Miss Blythe,' Rilla jumped, startled. She regained her composure quickly and returned the greeting. 'Good afternoon, Mr. Ford,' she said, with a smile. Ken stood in front of her, looking at her with twinkling eyes. 'Your mother said you were here, somewhere, so I came along. I'm not disturbing you, am I?'

'No, you're not,' Rilla replied. 'I was just thinking, and remembering,'

'What were you thinking of?'

'The last time I was here with Walter,' Rilla replied, as Ken sat down next to her. 'It's three years ago since it happened, yet, I cant help but think it happened yesterday,' Ken put his arm around her. 'I miss him so much, sometimes, that it's all I can do to 'keep faith'.'

'You are 'keeping faith' as well as anyone could expect you to,' Ken replied. 'You've done so much to help out your mother and Susan, that I'm sure Walter would be proud of you,' Rilla smiled, and leant back against him. 'If it helps at all, I miss him, too, you know,'

'I know you do, and it does help, sometimes, but not at three o'clock at night,' Rilla responded. The two of them were silent for awhile before Ken said. 'I came to ask you a question,'

'A personal one?' Rilla asked, with a smile. Ken let go of her and took her hand. Rilla looked at him, with surprise in her eyes. 'You might say it is,' he replied, matching her smile. 'Rilla, what do you say about getting married next spring?'

'I say yes!' Rilla said, sounding like the girl Ken had danced with at her first party. 'Yes, yes, yeth!'

'I thought you might,' Ken slipped a ring onto Rilla's finger. 'You've been mine for a long time, but it's time you start showing the world who you belong to,'

'I belong to nobody but myself, Kenneth Ford!' Rilla laughed, as she looked at her ring. 'It's beautiful,'

'So are you,' Ken said, with something in his voice that made Rilla blush. 'You're beautiful, and mine, nobody else's,' Rilla's blush deepened. Looking at her, Ken saw that she was trying not to cry. 'What's the matter, Rilla?' he asked, concern in his eyes and voice. 'I'm not crying because I'm sad; I'm crying because I'm happy,' Rilla said, with a sob. Ken took her in his arms and held her for a long while. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon in the valley.

Rilla stood up regretfully. 'Coming in to dinner?' she asked, looking at Ken. He was stretched out at full length on the ground, his hands under his head, as he looked at the stars. 'Yes,' he said, sitting up and looking at her with a look that made Rilla blush. 'Let's go and tell the family that the date has been set,' he said.

'Not yet,' Rilla replied. 'They'll just be happy that I'm finally engaged,' she finished, cheekily. Ken laughed.

'You sound like the Rilla I remember from childhood,' he said. 'when you used to chase Walter around the garden at the House of Dreams,'

'As I remember it, you and Walter were the ones who did most of the chasing, and it was of me,' Rilla said, with a laugh. 'it seems so long ago,'

'It is long ago,' Ken stood up. 'Everything that happened before the war was a long time ago. It was in a different world,'

'I guess that's what Shirley feels,' Rilla said, as she saw her brother sitting alone in the garden. 'He used to be quiet before the war, and now, he's even more so. Mother's worried about him; so am I. It's not like him to be this quiet,'

'maybe he's trying to get used to the world as it is now,' Ken suggested, softly. 'I had trouble finding my feet in the world, and only because you're here, was I able to figure out what I had to do in order to become someone you could be proud of.' Rilla smiled, and the two of them went inside.

The dining room was a chaotic place. Rilla and Ken sat down and as soon as grace was said, Gilbert looked at his youngest daughter's twinkling eyes. 'You seem happy, Rilla, daughter of anne,'

'I am happy, Dad,' Rilla replied, as she poured a glass of water. 'And before you ask, Jem, no, I haven't been into the dandelion wine. You're the only one silly enough to do that,' Her eyes laughed at him. Jem joined in the laughter that greeted her statement. 'I was twelve,' he defended himself.

'You were old enough to know better,' Anne said, laughing. 'Rilla, is Shirley outside?'

'He's in the garden,' Rilla replied. 'He didn't talk to us, did he Ken?'

'No, he didn't,' Ken answered. 'He seemed like he wanted to be left alone,'

'That sounds like Shirley,' Nan remarked. 'He's always so quiet,'

'That's because he's like Grandfather Blythe,' Jem said. 'He was a quiet person, too, wasn't he dad?'

'Yes, he was,' Gilbert replied. Before he could say anything else, the telephone rang and he excused himself to answer it.

After the meal, Rilla and Ken went outside and sat on the veranda. They sat in the dark, not talking, but glad of each other's nearness. Finally Ken stood up. 'I must go, or Mother will think I've gone back to Toronto,' Rilla smiled, and walked with Ken to the garden gate where they had said farewell his last night of leave before going to fight. Ken kissed her, and walked off, whistling softly. Rilla watched until he had gone, and then turned to go back inside, and got a surprise. Standing in front of her was Shirley. 'Can we talk?' he asked. Rilla nodded, and followed him to the bench he'd been sitting on.

'Rilla, how do you do it?' Shirley asked when they were seated.

'Do what?'

'Keep faith!' Shirley said. 'I cant, and I've tried to, believe me,'

'It is hard,' Rilla began

'Hard! I should say it is!' Shirley burst out. 'you know, Walter and I were close,'

'you were?' Rilla asked. 'I didn't know,'

'Not many did,' Shirley replied. 'Yes, we were close. I used to go to him if I had something bothering me, and he'd always give me some advice. I had no idea how much I depended on his advice until word came of Courcelette,' he was silent for a minute. 'And now, I don't have anyone to turn to. I've been trying to keep faith, but it's hard to do it alone,'

'I'll help you, if you like,' Rilla offered. Shirley stared at her, and then nodded.

'I'd like that,' he said, with a small smile. Rilla did something she hadn't done since they were little. She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Shirley was surprised, but returned the hug. 'Come in, and have something to eat,' Rilla said after they'd finished. Shirley allowed himself to be pulled up and noticed the ring on Rilla's finger. 'He finally asked, did he?'

'He finally gave me some proof,' Rilla replied, with a smile. Shirley smiled at her and followed her inside.

Rilla stood for a while at her open window before she went to bed. From her window, she got a good view of the House of Dreams, and the light at the top of the house was Ken's, as she knew very well. She stood there until it went out, and then went to her bed. 'I wonder if he knows he can see my room from his?' she mused sleepily.


	2. Chapter 2

'I hear you're actually engaged to Kenneth Ford now Rilla,' Mary Douglas, neé Vance, said, as Rilla walked out onto the verandah where Mary was talking to Di and Nan a week after Rilla's engagement had been announced to her family and friends. 'Yes, I am,' Rilla replied.

'I never picked Ken to fall for someone like you,' Mary said. 'He always struck me as being someone who would lead a young girl on to believe he liked her,'

'You know something, Mary,' Di said, coming to Rilla's rescue. 'I'm surprised Kitty Alec agreed to your marriage with Miller. Didn't she always say that you weren't going to marry him because you were a nobody without a name?' Mary flushed, knowing that she'd gone too far. Di continued. 'Maybe Miller only married you because he feels sorry for you, did you ever think of that? Maybe he doesn't love you, and only pretends to love you. What do you think, Mary? Do you think it's nice to hear things like that? Now you have an idea of how you made Rilla feel,' Rilla looked at Di with gratitude. She left her sisters with Mary, and wandered to Rainbow Valley.

Shirley was there, buried in a book on aviation, which Rilla knew he wouldn't move from until he'd finished it. Rilla smiled, as she passed him. He had the same absorbed look on his face that Walter had had when he was reading poetry. Rilla left him be, and wandered to the shore. She made her way to her favourite spot there and sat down, watching the sea, and thinking. Mary's words had stung her deeply, and Rilla was beginning to feel doubtful over Ken's devotion to her. Just as she was about to go and find him, a voice said 'You look like a mermaid sitting there, Rilla-my-Rilla,' and Ken came and sat down next to her. 'What's troubling you?' he asked, seeing a look of sadness on her face.

'I was just thinking,' Rilla replied. 'About what being engaged means,'

'It doesn't mean that you're my sole property,' Ken said. 'It means you belong to me as well as your family,'

'I know,' Rilla responded, watching as a wave crashed on the sand. 'it also means that you belong to me as well as your family,'

'I've belonged to you since the night of the dance at the light,' Ken said. 'I just didn't realize it until I came to Ingleside the night before I left for France,'

'did I ever tell you how I refused Fred Arnold a kiss on the grounds that I had promised you I would let no one but you kiss me?' Rilla asked, her doubts disappearing.

'No, you didn't,' Ken looked at his fiancée. 'What happened?'

'Fred came and asked me to marry him when he returned from France, and I refused. He then asked for a kiss and a promise to be friends, and I told him I could be friends, but that I couldn't kiss him because I had promised someone I would let no one kiss me until they returned. He guessed it was you, and left, hurt and upset. I thought I had told you,'

'No, you didn't,' Ken said. 'I would have remembered it if you had. Mother wants to know if we're planning on having a spree to announce our engagement, by the way,'

'Mother wanted to know that, too,' Rilla laughed. 'I told her I'd talk to you and see what we came up with,'

'I told mother that too,' Ken laughed. 'The question is, do you want a spree?'

'Not particularly,' Rilla answered. 'I mean, everyone I wanted to know that we're engaged knows,'

'I know what you mean,' Ken said. 'maybe we should just have a small get together in Rainbow Valley, with just your family, the Merediths, my family and Miss Cornelia,'

'if we're going to have her, Mary will want to come,' Rilla replied.

'We'll just tell her that we've only got limited space,' Ken said. He wasn't overly fond of Mary and she knew it.

'if we're going to have a get together, I want Gertrude and Robert to come,' Rilla said.


	3. Chapter 3

Rilla looked up as a shadow passed over her book. Standing in front of her was Shirley, smiling at her.

'What's with the secret smile?' Rilla asked him.

'I was just thinking how much you reminded me of Walter,' Shirley replied, sitting next to her. 'You remember how he would get when he was reading,'

'You were doing that the other day,' Rilla told her brother.

'I think we all do it occasionally,' Shirley replied. 'Rilla, have you seen kitchen lately?'

'Yes, I have,' Rilla responded. 'Why are you asking?'

'Because I think it might be a bit too much for Susan,'

'Shirley, she's in her element in the kitchen. You know that. If I had refused to let her cook, you know how upset she'd be,'

'I know,' Shirley sighed.

'But I think the war took its toll on her,' Rilla looked thoughtfully at her older brother. 'The war took its toll on all of us; nobody was left untouched by it. But we're learning to put it behind us and to look towards the future. I know that Ken will be haunted by memories for the rest of his life, but I don't care. Do you think that Faith cares if Jem's upset and distant one moment, and then happy and carefree the next? We know that they're hurting, yet we also know that by loving them unconditionally that we're helping them. Shirley, you wanted me to talk to you as I did to Walter, yet you've been pushing me away and fencing me out.'

'You were so absorbed in your upcoming nuptials that I thought it best to be out of the picture for awhile.'

'I wasn't too absorbed not to make time for you,' Rilla told him. 'I make time for Jims, and I can make time for you. Everything's been planned for the wedding next month, and I mean to have a golden month, like we used to do when we were children. Ken's got to go to Toronto this week, and won't be back for another two weeks. And to take my mind off his absence, I'm going to pretend I'm only fourteen again. Don't smile at me that way, Shirley. You know what I mean,'

'You sound like Mother now,' Shirley told her. 'That's why I was smiling,'

'Nan, Di, Faith, Una, Carl, Jerry, Jem and I are planning on having a month full of fun and larks. It won't be the same without you. Please say you'll do it for me?'

'I will, but I won't answer for the consequences,' Shirley told her.

According to plan, the Blythes and Merediths had a golden month. They forgot about the war, and acted like children. Anne heard the laughter floating up from Rainbow Valley and smiled. Her children were making up for lost time.

There were rambles in the spruce barrens, and along the shore. There were long talks in Rainbow Valley, full of laughter, and hope. There were 'moon sprees' galore, with everyone joining in.

Shirley seemed to forget about his time as a war ace, and threw himself wholeheartedly into whatever was going on. The others were surprised; none of them had imagined that quiet Shirley had that much spirit in him, but soon became used to it.

Ken returned from Toronto earlier than expected, and joined in the spirit of things. He added an extra tang to the month, Rilla thought. Ken knew many old poems and things and when they were in Rainbow Valley talking, he would quote them, or spin them stories like Walter had when he was with them.

'It's been a real golden month, hasn't it?' Di asked the night before Rilla and Ken's celebration. 'It has,' Rilla agreed.

'I don't want it to end, even though I know it's got to,' Faith said. 'It was great to pretend we were children again, though.'

'I'd forgotten what high jinks were until the start of this month,' Jerry said. 'I mean, I knew what they were, I just didn't remember how much fun they were,'

'At least nobody rode pigs this time,' Carl said, glancing slyly at Faith. Everyone laughed. 'I'm never going to live that down, am I?' Faith asked when she could speak again.

'Not with Carl around,' Jerry told her.

'Just make sure your children don't follow in their mother's footsteps, Jem,' Carl said.

A shrill whistle made him jump to his feet. 'I've got to go. I promised Bruce that I'd take him for a moon spree before he goes to bed,'

'Do you mind if I join you?' Una asked. Carl shook his head.

'The more the merrier,' he told her. Together they left Rainbow Valley.

Their leaving seemed to signify the end of the twilight talk. Nan and Jerry disappeared, followed by Shirley, and then by Faith and Jem.

This left Rilla and Ken alone in the valley. Ken put his arm around his fiancée and they sat there in silence until the moon rose. Ken stood up after it rose.

'I must get back or Persis will be annoyed with me. Dad's aunt is here, and it's not all that nice with her around.'

'You've settled where we're going tomorrow night, haven't you?'

'Yes, I have,' Ken told her. 'Don't fret, Rilla-my-Rilla.'

Together they walked towards Ingleside. 'You are the sweetest thing,' Ken told her, causing Rilla to smile. Suddenly Ken drew her to him and kissed her.

'That was your last kiss from me as Rilla Blythe. Next time I kiss you, you'll be Rilla Ford,' he told her before he walked away.


End file.
